The Sports Bar Around the Corner
by 90sFanGirl
Summary: It's been a long week. Kate and George have stressors at home and at work. They both leave work on Friday night intending to reflect and wallow in solitude. Instead they find a little bit more.


DISCLAIMER: I own none of these characters. Just lots of love for them. Enjoy!

It had been a long week. Kate rubbed her eyes as she finished the last of her paperwork, sat back and sighed. Between the paperwork, the boyfriend, and the stress level of this case, it was time for a drink. She stood up, donned her jacket, and called to George over her shoulder.

"Bye George. Have a great weekend,"

George was buried in his own paperwork. Having just wrapped up the Case of the Strategic Weather Initiative, there was a lot. Evidently, dealing with foreign governments upped the paperwork load dramatically at Mathnet. He glanced up.

"Oh. Bye Kate. See you Monday." Then he laughed. "Get it? See you Monday? See you, Monday? Heh heh heh heh."

She rolled her eyes. And then she smiled.

Ten minutes later she was perched on a barstool in a basement sports bar around the corner, sipping a rum and coke and absent-mindedly watching the Lakers cream the Knicks.

George closed up his folders and leaned back in his chair. He ran his hand over his head, acutely aware of his receding hairline. He pulled the letter out of his pocket again and re-read it, slowly, pondering. He closed his eyes and sighed.

When he opened them again, they were watery with tears, and he sat staring at Kate's empty chair. _Did she leave_? _Oh yeah, see you, Monday._ Boy he was distracted. Maybe a drink would do him good this Friday night. He stood up slowly and swung on his jacket, looked around the office, and headed downstairs.

Kate untucked her shirt, loosened her tie, and rolled her sleeves to three-quarters. She sipped her drink, letting her mind wander around over the last few days. Larry had broken up with her. Eighteen months they had dated. Los Angeles to New York. She had never been sure he was the one, but she appreciated the companionship and someone to talk to, even if it was just over the phone at this point. As she sipped and thought, Kate vaguely noticed the door to the bar open and another figure slide onto a barstool. She glanced down the bar and realized the newcomer was George. Kate thought the sight of George Frankly in a bar was one of the weirdest things she'd seen, even with all their crazy cases.

_He looks sort of lonely_, Kate thought. She watched him for a few minutes. He ordered a beer and guzzled half of it in one fell swoop. He rested his chin on his fists and stared at the screens.

Kate popped off her barstool and slid onto the one next to George. She leaned into his bubble. "Hey Partner, what're you drinking?"

George jumped. "Kate! What are you doing here?"

"Oh you know, watching the game," she said dryly. "No, but really, it's been a long week and sometimes I just like to come here to unwind. The stress of literally saving the world got to me I guess. I suppose our stakes aren't usually so high. You come here often, George?"

"Me? Oh. No, actually I have never been here."

"Huh. What are the odds? Well, you picked a good one."

"Martha's cheating on me," George blurted out.

"Ohhh. George," Kate said, genuine concern on her face. "That's awful." She was expecting him to literally answer what the odds were.

"Yeah. Though I guess I'm not totally surprised." He picked up his beer and chugged a little more.

Kate called out, "Oy, barkeep! We'll have another IPA down here."

George just raised his eyebrows.

Kate put her hand on George's shoulder. "Alcohol used to be a big part of my life," was all she said.

"Martha and I have been at odds for awhile," George started. "I'm a homebody, she's got wanderlust. I'm ready to start a family, and she isn't. I just wish she'd had the guts to just leave me first, instead of...this. Eight years of marriage and...she cheats on me?"

Kate looked at her partner with new eyes. "How did you find out?" She asked quietly.

"I intercepted a letter." He didn't elaborate and Kate didn't press. She could guess. She'd written letters like that, though not to married men. She would miss doing that, actually.

Out loud, she said, "Oh George. I am so sorry."

"I think she's moving out this weekend. I don't know what I'm going to do. I mean, I guess I've been slowly letting her go for awhile. I think about other people myself if I'm being honest. But eight years. That's a long time to love someone." He picked up his second beer.

Kate just let him sip in silence for awhile. She watched him, watched the game, nursed her rum and coke.

"Well enough about me," George finally spoke up. "Your turn. What are you doing in a New York sports bar on a Friday night, Kate?"

Kate sighed. "Well I do like sports. Though basketball's not really my thing. No, truthfully, it seems you're not the only one having relationship trouble. We didn't have eight years under our belt, but we had a year and a half."

George looked so stunned Kate had to laugh. "What, George?"

"I mean-I guess-I don't know," he stumbled.

Katie chuckled again. "I know I'm pretty professional in the office, George, but even I appreciate the romantic and wilder side of life. You wouldn't be so surprised if you ever asked me about my evenings and weekends."

"Oh Kate, now it's my turn to be sorry."

"Aw George it's okay. His name was Larry and since we moved to New York, he and I have been long-distance. It's never really a good idea. And I guess I've never really been sure if he was good for me."

There was a companionable lull.

"It is nice to see you here tonight, Kate. I don't feel like I've had a friendly conversation for awhile since Martha started pulling away. So yeah, I'm glad you're here."

"I'm here for you, Pard. That really stinks." She took a swig from her drink.

"You said alcohol used to be a big part of your life?" George asked. "I guess I really don't know you that well."

"Oh yes. I didn't have much supervision as a teenager. I started drinking when I was 15. And I was pretty wild in college. I was big into the theater scene. You know. I was inebriated most evenings and weekends. Beer. Vodka. Tequila." She wiggled her glass. "Rum. Didn't much matter. Wasn't much into wine, I guess." She chuckled again. Then paused.

"Sorry," she said, "Is this weird?" She knew the rum and coke was making her extra chatty. The words just kept pouring out. George was so easy to talk to.

"Not at all, Kate. Carry on." He waved his hand and smiled.

"Yeah so the theater life made the drinking life pretty easy. But then I discovered mathematics. I had this great professor that took me under her wing and helped me fall in love with math. And the rest is history. I-what?"

The bar was getting louder as more of the late-evening crowd trickled in. George was leaning in toward Kate, listening intently, entranced by this whole new side of her.

"Oh nothing in particular. I'm like hearing about your life before Mathnet. Truth be told, I've wanted to know you more for a long time, but sometimes I don't know what to ask. But usually we're just too busy and distracted at the office."

Kate smiled knowingly.

"And drinking with you is kind of fun."

"It might have been more fun about ten years ago! Though I'm glad I went into math. It probably saved me a lot of heartache-ha, well maybe not that-but it gave me a reason to take a break from drinking. I was on the fast-track to some poor life choices."

"Kate. I am so grateful that professor found you and wound up as my partner. And my friend."

"Oh that's just the alcohol talking, George."

He frowned. "No. Really. Kate, I love working with you. I love seeing you at the office every day. Fighting math crime without you would be…"

"What?" Kate asked softly.

"Well, harder for one. That professor knew what she was doing, training you. You're so smart. But mostly, fighting math crime without you would be lonely. You haven't known it, but as things with Martha have deteriorated at home, you've been a bright spot for me. A friend."

Apparently the beer was making him extra chatty, too. But Kate quite liked hearing these things from her partner. Larry never really understood her attraction to mathematics. And he never felt like a good friend. Like George. Larry was just someone to fill an empty void. George was-what _was _George?

Kate and George sat there at the bar, side by side, until nearly closing time. They shared inside jokes about their experiences at Mathnet U. Things they understood together even though they weren't there at the same time. Quirky professors, unique traditions. They talked about their favorite California cases and how much they missed the sunshine, but loved Christmastime in the Big Apple. The longer they talked, the less Kate thought about Larry. And Kate noticed that George eventually stopped mentioning Martha in his stories.

"So you used to play competitive cricket?" Somehow this bit of news did not surprise Kate.

"Yeah! I lived abroad in Scotland between undergrad and Mathnet U. My team wasn't half bad."

"That's hilarious, George. I would have paid big money to watch you play." She laughed heartily. "I played field hockey myself in high school. And recreationally in college. Kilts and all."

"I bet you were pretty good," George said. "You're fierce. And kilts?" Now it was his turn to laugh. "I bet you looked good, too."

Kate raised her eyebrows and winked. "Yep, I was a pretty young thing for sure."

There was a quiet pause in the banter. Although she thought she liked where this might be going, in an effort to keep things from getting awkward, Kate reached for her wallet to pay her tab. "I should probably-um-get going." She fumbled around, the rum and coke and Long Island catching up to her.

"Okay, Kate. Thanks for just...just being here tonight."

Kate lost her footing hopping down from the barstool. George reached out instinctively to break her fall, his arm curling naturally around her waist. His other hand clutched at her and caught just beneath her untucked shirt making contact with her soft skin. He pulled Kate into a standing position and cleared his throat.

"Uh, oh, sorry Kate." His voice a little husky.

She giggled. "Sorry for what, Pard? And then more seriously, "Don't be."

"Kate…"

They stood still for several moments, George's fingers lingered, his thumb tracing the curve above Kate's hip, eyes on each other.

"I uh, should probably get going, too," George said.

"Yeah, I um, suppose so."

Neither of them moved.

Kate reached out to take George's shoulder and pulled him gently toward her.

"Kate…" He said again, and pulled slightly back. "Gosh Kate, I want- I want to do this. I really do. But not like this. Kate. Your skin. This. You. You are so perfect, Kate. I want to do this. But tonight you should go home."

"But George-"

George held her hands. "Kate. You know this isn't a good idea. Martha. Larry. Alcohol. I think you know that this wouldn't be wise. And, I don't want you to be my rebound."

"Ugh. Fine," Kate huffed and scooped up her handbag from under the stool. She was embarrassed and taken aback at both herself and George's reaction.

"But I'd like to take you home, if that's okay," George said.

Kate sighed. She knew she was drunk. She knew she'd appreciate the help home. She knew all the things. But tonight she also _felt_ all the things. And that was something that didn't happen often.

"Yes, you may take me home."

The walk to Kate's apartment was quiet, but amicable. Kate looped her arm through George's arm, but nothing more. She wanted him, oh how she wanted him. But he was right, of course. This was probably all the alcohol talking anyway. She'd been there before. At her door, George hugged her goodnight and made sure she had her purse and locked the door behind her.

George climbed the stairs to his apartment, knowing it would be empty when he got there. He left the lights off as he undressed and climbed into bed. He lay on his back, thinking over the last few hours. The bed was cold. He was lonely. And still buzzed. He could practically feel Kate's heat radiating from where she could have been lying beside him. He shook his head. No. He absolutely did the right thing. He didn't want to ruin this. What could be. Maybe. And he dozed off, fully at peace with taking the drunk girl home. She was safe, and there would be no regrets tomorrow.


End file.
